How come Arnold's generation had such great pec development?

[Jenslyn17]

I've always admired the physiques of Arnold's generation. I think their proportions were a lot more aesthetically appealing than now to say the least. One of the main factors in this is that many of them seemed to have great chest development. Arnold is of course a paragon in this regard, but I'd call it a trend, really. Do you agree? If so, what's the reason? I can think of a few possible reasons:

1. Ideal proportions were different than what they are today. Maybe judges wanted to see huge pecs (and biceps) more than anything.

2. The chest is one of the archetypal masculine muscle groups. Maybe bodybuilders developed over-inflated chests early on to achieve a specific aesthetic that stood strong for many years.

3. The bench press wasn't as much of a staple. Perhaps the huge focus on bench press strength has meant less of a focus on chest development and more of a focus on more strength. This seems counter-intuitive, but I know from myself just how bad my chest development was when I just focused on increasing my bench. Dunno.

4. The chest generally responds well to the old-school training style of Arnold and his peers... huge volume and all that. Perhaps a focus on other exercises...

What do you think?

[AdamWW]

I'm not so sure about #4... although it would need more volume than other groups, back and legs probably need even more.

I think you're also overlooking the massively inflated waists of today's pros. Back in Arnolds time, the trend was a v-taper which would accentuate the chest and make it appear larger, also.

[Jenslyn17]

Yea, good point, thought about that but forgot to write it down... I'm sure proportions weigh in too, cause the protruding bellies do seem to take away from the chest. It just doesn't protrude on those guys the way it did on, say, Arnold

[Deltrap]

Also today's tighter conditioning makes the chest appear smaller than that era

[stealth_swimmer]

Also today's tighter conditioning makes the chest appear smaller than that era

Actually, no it doesn't. Good conditioning makes muscles pop out more and appear bigger. Some pros go overboard and end up coming in flat. Overall though, I think it's merely that more focus is on back and legs today because it takes a while to develop such large muscle groups.

edit- I'd say the chests on today's pros is at least as good if not better, but everything else has come up as well so the chest usually doesn't stand out as much. That and also, I think the proportions considered ideal at the time may have been different like you said.

[BlackNumero]

What the posters above said.


Bigger stomachs and waists (along with bigger everything else relatively) means smaller looking chest.


In todays world you gotta drop a bunch of water/bodyfat to be in condition, so the chest will be smaller.

[FAN0FdaSport]

well if you're only going to use 5 examples to represent a generation, they dont really match up against ronnie, joj, victor, branch,etc

[lancs_hotpot]

Seems to me their chest look so much bigger because if flat stomaches and more importantly lack of shoulder development. The pecs are definitely the focus when you look at those pics. Delts today are far superior.

[Groggery]

Seems to me their chest look so much bigger because if flat stomaches and more importantly lack of shoulder development. The pecs are definitely the focus when you look at those pics. Delts today are far superior.

Very apparent on Arnold and Lou.

[handyman89]

Seems to me their chest look so much bigger because if flat stomaches and more importantly lack of shoulder development. The pecs are definitely the focus when you look at those pics. Delts today are far superior.

was gonna say this.. today is about developing all muscle groups evenly, so the pecs do not appear as big as then even though todays Pecs are just as big if not bigger

[lancs_hotpot]

Yeah imagine Levrones or Ronnies pecs with smaller delts. Pecs would look much bigger.

Also side chest pose is done so much different today.

[FAN0FdaSport]

Also side chest pose is done so much different today.

yeah its done onstage without a pro being 1 foot away from the camera

[lancs_hotpot]

Lol good point

[Jenslyn17]

Look, I'm not saying that these guys have bigger chests than Ronnie, just talking about a general trend. Pics are just for show and sparkle But I guess it's true that a lot of it simply has to do with the surrounding muscle groups being much bigger, making the chest look smaller in comparison. That still begs the question of just why those 70s bodybuilders had reached such an impressive level of chest development, though!

[HoneyBadger300]

If you've read his book, Austrians placed highest value on chest and biceps because they were only photographed from the waist up for whatever reason. So at a very young age he was already building his chest and arms to look the best among his peers. Probably why he was able to build the physique later down the road.

Not sure about anyone else from that generation, just thought I'd explain Arnold.

[kebabdelight]

dat chest

[handyman89]

Like stated already its all about how you hit the pose to! makes a big difference!

[BigDaddyCoolPR]

They weren't afraid to bench press. Nowadays you actually hear some bodybuilders and "gurus" say that the bench press is WORTHLESS, and they prefer to do inclines or Hammer Strength. But you look at Bertil Fox, Franco and of course, Arnold, and the "bench pressing is worthless" argument goes out the window.

[Ajthemeso]

well if you're only going to use 5 examples to represent a generation, they dont really match up against ronnie, joj, victor, branch,etc

ronnie's chest is imo up to par with arnolds! ronnie was mind blowing!

[handyman89]

ronnie's chest is imo up to par with arnolds! ronnie was mind blowing!

I would say he surpassed Arnold

inb4 huge ronnie vs arnold derail

[BigDaddyCoolPR]

Ronnie's chest is definitely one of the best ever. His back got a lot of attention, but his chest wasn't too shabby.

This is my all-time favorite Ronnie pic:

[DomzyCuttin]

Yea, good point, thought about that but forgot to write it down... I'm sure proportions weigh in too, cause the protruding bellies do seem to take away from the chest. It just doesn't protrude on those guys the way it did on, say, Arnold

Just an observation, but I think all those guys have pretty small delts, which make theyre chests look even bigger.

Honestly, there are better pecs now. Jonnie Jackson, Branch, Ronnie, Ruhl... But these guys have massive backs, massive delts... It detracts from the size of the pecs.

Alot comes down to genetics. Arnold and Nubret had amazing chest insertions on the clavicular head, and they sat low on the ribs. Era or training style has nothing to do with that, thats just random.

And Robby does not have world class pecs. They are developed, but genetically they arent amazing.

[purdey]

The reason why Arnolds generation appears to have such great pec development is simply because the ones without it didn't make it to the top. Its the same as "the 70s guys were more complete and aesthetic", Thats because thats what you had to be to get to the top, and in the 70s only the top guys got media coverage. So you could put it down to the judging criteria.

Also it may be an indication of work ethics and the technological supplement advancements in todays bodybuilding. Maybe the pecs require a very high level of work to gain that immense development that drugs cannot achieve without it? As appose to delts which respond better to drugs. Maybe the bodybuilders of today rely to much on drugs?

"Thus the quality of physiques of the top echelon hath suffered and in quality's place, thine be quantity of muscular mass... And cometh the death of the beauty and art in bodybuilding and the birth of the race for grotesque size" - Jebadiah- 69:13

[Natural_O]

They weren't afraid to bench press. Nowadays you actually hear some bodybuilders and "gurus" say that the bench press is WORTHLESS, and they prefer to do inclines or Hammer Strength. But you look at Bertil Fox, Franco and of course, Arnold, and the "bench pressing is worthless" argument goes out the window.

I agree with this! Almost everyone did the same type of chest routine back then - barbell bench press, incline press, dumbbell flyes and dumbbell pullovers with maybe some dips and some cable cross-overs when getting ready for a show. A lot of guys won't bench press now because they are afraid of ripping their pecs or they don't do the exercise correctly (wider grip, elbows under the bar). You hardly ever see anyone doing dumbbell pullovers anymore.

[MiiO]

Put Ronnie's delt's and arm's on Arnold's body and Arnold's chest looks very average.

[JanesLastResort]

The reason why Arnolds generation appears to have such great pec development is simply because the ones without it didn't make it to the top. Its the same as "the 70s guys were more complete and aesthetic", Thats because thats what you had to be to get to the top, and in the 70s only the top guys got media coverage. So you could put it down to the judging criteria.

I say this is very true also.

[Arabianmuscles]

Their delts are small in proportion though, so you have to take that into account.

[BigDaddyCoolPR]

I agree with this! Almost everyone did the same type of chest routine back then - barbell bench press, incline press, dumbbell flyes and dumbbell pullovers with maybe some dips and some cable cross-overs when getting ready for a show. A lot of guys won't bench press now because they are afraid of ripping their pecs or they don't do the exercise correctly (wider grip, elbows under the bar). You hardly ever see anyone doing dumbbell pullovers anymore.

Very true. I know it's a cliché, but NOTHING beats the basics...the basics WORK. You look at a guy like Ronnie, with an awesome chest, he never shyed away from barbells and the bench press. I scratch my head when I hear or read a pro or a "pro trainer" advice people to NEVER bench press, to avoid it AT ALL COSTS.

[CokeAndRoidz]

Seems to me their chest look so much bigger because if flat stomaches and more importantly lack of shoulder development. The pecs are definitely the focus when you look at those pics. Delts today are far superior.

this is pretty much it.
Arnold said himself from the time he started training he was always obsessed with chest and biceps, as were the other guys of that era. The more obsessed you are with a muscle group, the more intensely and frequently you will probably train it.

They did also seem to lack delts most of those guys

[RoroCwalker]

Chest of peace.